Avoidance
by coinlaundry
Summary: When Hermione and Draco run into each other in a bar, they have one thing in common - they're both avoiding someone. A little OOC. Probably a oneshot.


"I am not your _slave_, Ron! It's not my responsibility to keep your apartment clean! You don't even have to do anything but wave your wand and it's done for you! Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot, _you can't even be bothered to learn the spells_," Hermione spat acidly at Ron, as she stood in the middle of his apartment.

"Bloody hell Hermione, I was just asking! If you don't want to do it, don't do it!" Ron whined.

"You always ask! It's all you ever do! Hermione, can you clean my apartment? Hermione, can you do my laundry? I'm sick of it! I had to do everything for you in school, but you're an adult now, Ron, and until you grow up, I don't think we can be together."

"Wha – what?" Ron's voice quietened and his face turned a bright red.

"I don't want to date you any more," Hermione said shortly.

"No! I won't let you do that! We're not breaking up!" Ron said firmly.

"Too late," Hermione snapped, and apparated out of the flat.

"That bitch! She can't break up with me!" Ron stormed into the apartment of Ginny and Harry without so much as a hello.

"Excuse me?" Ginny said, raising her eyebrows.

"Hermione! She broke up with me! All because I asked her to clean my bloody apartment!" Ron began pacing.

"I told you if you didn't start treating her better she'd do it," Ginny said in a matter of fact tone, "She's got way to much self respect to stay with an ass." Ron reddened.

"Ginny, be nice," Harry said, trying not to smirk, "But she's right. We told you. Everyone did. It's not our fault, or her fault for that matter, that she finally did it."

"Well, I can see I'm not going to get any support here," Ron snapped, before storming out of the apartment.

"What a rude git," Ginny sighed.

"Yep. He'll get over it, though. I just hope he doesn't go back to bloody Lavender like he always used to do when some girl dumped him." Ginny groaned.

"You don't suppose we can convince Hermione to take him back?" Harry shook his head.

"Do we really want her to be unhappy?" At that moment, a knock came on the door. Ginny walked over and opened it.

"Hermione! Ron's just popped over and told us the news," Ginny said. Hermione's eyes widened.

"He's not still here, is he?" she said, peering around the room.

"He stormed out after we told him he had it coming. How are you?" Ginny said, gesturing for Hermione to enter the room.

"Maybe it'll sink in later, but I feel kind of happy. And free," she smiled.

"Girl's night out tonight?" Ginny said.

"Hey! We were going to stay in and have a nice dinner!" Harry said indignantly.

"We do that every night," Ginny rolled her eyes, "I'll make it up to you." Ginny smirked, Harry grinned, and Hermione tried not to throw up.

"I'm really not into going out..." Hermione said.

"Come _on_, there's a new night club that's just opened up in Diagon Alley. It's caused a huge stir, it'll be great!" Hermione sighed.

"Fine. But please don't let me drink too much," she pleaded, "I'm not repeating the Cormac McLaggen saga again." Ginny grinned.

"Meet me in the Leaky Cauldron at 9," she said.

"I'm absolutely, positively, one hundred percent not going to some sweaty nightclub," Draco shook his head as Blaise rummaged through his wardrobe, trying to plan an outfit for the night.

"It's my birthday, you have to. It's the law of friendship. You have to sacrifice your own personal preferences for your friends on their birthdays."

"That's bullshit."

"It might well be, but you're coming any way," Blaise shrugged. Draco groaned.

"I swear, if any drunken bimbos hit on me, I'm going to start throwing things."

"You love the attention, admit it."

"Teenage Draco, maybe. Twenty one year old Draco loves attention from classy girls." Blaise rolled his eyes.

"So you're coming, right?"

"Yes. Begrudgingly. And on my birthday, you owe me. Big time."

Hermione sat awkwardly on a stool in the Leaky Cauldron, trying to ignore the eyes that were ogling her. She'd worn the only 'nightclub' dress she owned – a fitted black dress that was, she thought, quite a bit too short – but Ginny had insisted on her buying it. This was only the second time she'd worn it, and she was starting to regret it. A drunken patron began to approach her, but at that moment, Ginny entered the pub.

"Not a chance in hell, buddy," Ginny said, blocking the man's path, "Let's go." She grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her towards the exit.

"I knew I shouldn't have worn this dress," Hermione grumbled.

"Why not? You look fantastic! And don't worry, I'll keep all the creepy guys away from you, if you promise to keep them away from me."

"Deal."

Almost immediately after Draco walked into the nightclub, he knew he'd made a mistake.

"Pansy's here!" he hissed at Blaise.

"Theo probably invited her," Blaise said, scanning the room, "Oi! Theo!" He yelled when he spotted his friend. Sure enough, he was standing at a table with Pansy and a few other former Slytherins.

"I'm going to the bar. And probably won't be coming back for a few hours," Draco said before turning away from the group. He was not nearly drunk enough to deal with Pansy.

Hermione was hovering awkwardly around a group of Ginny's old school friends when she spotted a red head enter the room.

"Ron is here!" Hermione hissed. Ginny bit her lip.

"I may have told him we were going out. He's probably out to win you back."

"Ginny, why! I need a drink. No. Drinks," Hermione said before leaving the group.

"Vodka. Lots and lots of vodka," Hermione said to the person behind the bar as she sat on a bar stool.

"Alcohol kills brain cells," a man beside her observed, "Wouldn't want your intelligence to lessen." Hermione whipped her head around and groaned.

"Malfoy. Not tonight," she snapped, "Shit!" Hermione spotted Ron across the bar, and ducked her head under the bench.

"What the fuck are you doing, Granger?" Draco said, bemused.

"Hiding from Ron," Hermione said, "Is he still there?"

"He's gone." Hermione sighed and rose back up onto her seat, "Wait. Aren't you dating Weaselbee?"

"We broke up. Today. Ginny let slip I'd be here and apparently he's out to win back my heart," Hermione snorted, "Like that's going to happen, I was planning on breaking up with him for months." She picked up her first shot, and tossed it into her mouth. She scrunched her nose up.

"Wise move. Although, you could've saved yourself the trouble by realizing that Weasley was a prat years ago."

"Can we please stop talking about him? Who are you avoiding? You're glancing around the room like a mad man," Hermione downed another shot.

"Pansy. For obvious reasons," Hermione snorted, "You know, snorting isn't very lady like." Hermione shrugged.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not Pansy. You know, you could've saved yourself the trouble by not leading her on and screwing her in our fifth year," Hermione said snidely.

"She's ruined women for me. I'm terrified they're all going to turn out crazy like she is."

"Speak of the devil..." Hermione smirked.

"Draco! Oh, darling, I've missed you!" she leaned in to kiss the blonde haired man. Draco flinched away just in time. And Hermione, already drunk on two shots, did something that she never would have done had she been sober, and had Ron not just spotted her from across the room.

"Sorry, sweetheart, he's with me," Hermione said, placing her hand onto Draco's leg. Pansy sputtered.

"HER?! YOU'RE WITH HER?!" she exploded, reaching for her wand. Before she could even pull it out, she'd been restrained by two burly looking men.

"Use of wands in the nightclub is strictly forbidden unless it is a life or death situation," one of them said, as they dragged Pansy away.

"DRACO! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?"

"Quick thinking, Hermione. But you can take your hand off my leg now." Hermione noticed that Ron was approaching faster, having heard Pansy's outburst.

"No, I can't," she shook her head, "Play along, now." She leaned in towards him, and pressed her lips against his. Although she wasn't expecting it, she was happily surprised when Draco turned the fake kiss into a real one. She returned it eagerly. When they pulled away from each other, Hermione looked over to where Ron had been standing – he was no longer there, having stormed out of the nightclub. Hermione sighed satisfactorily.

"Who would have thought that Draco Malfoy would be the one to make my night," she grinned, before rising from her chair.

"You're just going to leave me?" Draco pouted.

"Yeah, I am. But if Pansy gives you anymore trouble, send me an owl," she winked.

"You know Pansy will always give me trouble."

"Well, then, I expect you to be getting in touch with me soon." Hermione smiled, before turning on her heel and walking back towards her friends.


End file.
